M39
M37 to M41 The Shadows Descend - Darkness and dissolution descend upon the Jericho Sector, restoring it to the name of the pre-Imperial Jericho Reach and initiating the time period in the region known as the Age of Shadows. From this point onwards, the records of its history are no more than a few fragments of an unknown whole, with only the Deathwatch’s tireless vigil maintaining any semblance of Imperial involvement in the region. *'001.M39' - The 10th Black Crusade erupts out of the Eye of Terror. The Conflict of Helica. The Iron Warriors assault the Iron Hands Chapter homeworld at Medusa. *'018.M39 Second Sphere Expansion' - The Ethereal Supreme, Aun'Wei of the Whispered Wisdom, gives the signal to begin the long-planned Second Sphere Expansion. Aun'Wei's famous speech is well-remembered, ending with "the nod that launched a million ships." With new advances in propulsion technology and an already established space empire, the Second Sphere Expansion is marked by contact with aliens and larger wars. *'038.M39 Ymgarl Moons Cleansed of Genestealers' - The Salamanders Chapter of Space Marines cleanses the moons of Ymgarl of the strain of Genestealers long found in that region of the galaxy. The purge is not successful and Ymgarl Genestealers will continue to plague the Imperium in the centuries to come. *'053.M39 A New Ally' - The planet Vespid is absorbed into the D'yanoi Sept. They had long been courted by the Water Caste -- but little was established save for crystal trade agreements. Within days of the Ethereals' involvement, the Vespid Strain leaders convert wholeheartedly to the cause of the Greater Good. *'301.M39' - The 11th Black Crusade erupts out of the Eye of Terror. *'322-384.M39 The Angevin Crusade' - The Angevin Crusade begins when Praetor Golgenna Angevin, a powerful noble from the Terran Court, is raised to the rank of Lord Militant in the Imperial Guard and granted a writ from the High Lords of Terra to persecute an Imperial Crusade to liberate and dominate the area of space designated as the Calyx Expanse. His Crusade's forces are drawn principally from the Segmentum Solar and number over 17 million levied troops who are divided into 4 battle groups and a strategic reserve, re-enforced by elements of the Titan Legios Venator and Magna, as well as the Black Templars, Tigers Argent, Sons of Medusa and Charnel Guard Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes and a significant naval deployment drawn from the Battlefleets Solar and Obscurus. A score of Rogue Trader and Explorator fleets range ahead of the main Imperial forces, identifying targets and providing active reconnaissance in this dangerous region of space. Swelling the force's already vast ranks are tens of thousands of “pauper warriors” of the Frateris Militia whipped up into a frenzy of holy zeal by the Ecclesiarchy and innumerable petty hangers-on, opportunists and logistical transports, with supply trains leading back whole sectors away from the front. Using the well-established Frontier World of Sinophia as its forward staging post and marker, the Crusade’s main thrust is launched like an armoured fist into the heart of the Calyx Expanse across the Periphery in a two-pronged assault directed towards two prominent star systems where Rogue Traders had long-established pro-Imperial human contact: Malfi and Solomon. *'330.M39 The Living Plagues of Thruscas Sine' - In a single generation, the heretically progressive world of Thruscas Sine eradicates all natural illness from its populace. Nurgle is deeply offended, and infests the world from pole to pole; Nurglings, Plaguebearers, Rot Flies and finally the jovial Great Unclean Ones materialise. *'341-545.M39 The Reaping of the Emperor’s Wrath' - Having strongly established and fortified two salients of conquered Imperial territory into the Calyx Expanse, with their domains now anchored on the worlds of Solomon and Malfi, as well as defeated three minor xenos empires and innumerable other non-compliant forces in the prior twenty years of fighting, the Angevin Crusade pauses for fortification and entrenchment of its gains before the next stage of conquests begins. The Crusade is then granted a fresh influx of troops by the High Lords of Terra in recognition of its success (and the wealth already pouring into Imperial coffers from their conquests), in order to press on. Seizing the moment, the Crusade forces carry out the greatest single sweep of conquests in the conflict as the two-pronged assault from the salient's arms sweep together conquering as many worlds in the pace of four years as had been taken in the preceding two decades. These conquests form the territory later known as the Golgenna Reach sub-sector in a campaign that is called by Imperial chroniclers the "Reaping of the Emperor's Wrath." Of the many famous victories of this campaign, one of the most lauded belongs to the young General Drusus, who took the War World of Iocanthos in a single week, overthrowing a great and baleful tyranny there, while perhaps the most infamous is the Exterminatus of the world of Amun'an Morrus, whose once-human population of intelligent machines is judged too tainted by tech-heresy to continue to exist. Such horrors are attested to on this world that after its destruction its former location is stricken from all Imperial records, only to live on as a dark Calixian legend. *'353-558.M39 The Golgenna Consolidation' - With the first and second great phases of its vast operation complete, (and partly owing to battle fatigue after 30 standard years of Crusade), Lord Militant Angevin’s forces consolidated their hold of what was more than 200 captured worlds, and shepherded the arrival of the first wave of Imperial colonisation to the areas they controlled. During this period of relative peace, several notable regiments of the Imperial Guard who had earned great glory in the campaign (such as the Brontine Centurions) were given rights of settlement to their own worlds, while several attached forces (like the elements provided by the various Astartes Chapters) rotated out of the Crusade's service. *'359.M39 The Angevin Crusade Second Front is Opened' - The Angevin Crusade’s third great push begins with a freshly raised army group gathered from the core worlds of the Segmentum Obscurus, under the command of the Imperial Navy's High Admiral Vaakkon who opens a second front. The new army group to enter the Crusade assaulted the Calyx Expanse from the Segmentum's coreward regions, with the goal of linking up with Angevin’s own forces who advanced from Golgenna to meet them. This phase of the campaign proves disastrous, as worsening conditions in the Warp and a series of calamities and reversals beset the Imperial forces, and when the fleets finally meet in 363.M39 at the world of Orendal the Imperial losses of the last four years nearly equal that of the first two decades of the Crusade. Angevin commands the world of Orendal be transformed into a shrine to honour the fallen dead and then he orders a retreat. Some say that after this time Angevin is a man broken in will and purpose. The Crusade's forces withdraw to the interior of the Golgenna Reach, and Angevin devolves command of his armies to his senior generals and admirals with mixed success, as with no clear line of authority factionalism and bitter rivalries start to appear in the ranks of the Crusade. *'363-369.M39 The Bleak Years' - With the Angevin Crusade’s forward impetus stalled, its domains begin to come under repeated and sustained attack from without, weathering the storms of an Ork WAAAGH!, and the privations of xenos corsairs and raiders whose assaults claim the lives of millions. Signs and omens are everywhere; a burning black fire is seen in the skies of the world of Lossal Prime days before all contact with the thriving Imperial colony world is lost, the wreckage of an entire overdue re-enforcement battle group out of Akurion is discovered by piquet ships operating on the fringes of the Ha’az’Roth region and plagues decimate the worlds of the Malfian Holdfast. Rebellions and cult activity rise to threaten what were thought to be stable worlds and assassins claim the life of Arch-Confessor Melcher El, the Crusade’s spiritual leader and Ecclesiarchy adviser. Worsening political rivalries between the Crusade's generals and Imperial Commanders break out into petty conflicts. Betrayals and a wave of outright distrust between the Crusade's leaders allow matters to deteriorate further. For the first time the Crusade’s gains begin to be lost, and the Imperial forces are stretched increasingly thin in their defence of the new realm. Morale problems and discord grow in the ranks. Only the fleets of the Rogue Traders Sibylline Haarlock and Ludd Sabrehagen provide the rapid transport and redeployment needed to support the brilliant and daring counterattacks of General Drusus’ army group against the Warp-worshiping xenos race known as the Yu’vath and their debased human allies which prevent the entire Malfian region from collapsing and leaving the Crusade’s conquests wide open for assault. Drusus is widely acclaimed as a saviour but many powerful figures in the Crusade view him as a dangerous warmonger, rival and would-be usurper. *'367.M39 The Transfiguration of Drusus' - According to some sources, betrayed by agents of his rivals among Lord Militant Angevin’s generals, Drusus is attacked by a deadly assassin whilst rallying his depleted forces on the world of Maccabeus Quintus and is seemingly slain, before rising again -- an event many see as a true miracle and a clear mark of the Emperor’s favour. The Drusine sect of the Imperial Cult begins to flourish in his shadow, already revering him as a living saint, while shadowy agencies, some say belonging to the Ordo Malleus of the Inquisition, also bring new aid to his forces in the persecution of the Yu’vath and their human allies (which include traitors within the Imperial’s own ranks). Almost by sheer force of personality and by independently rallying much of the Crusade’s forces to his own banner with tacit backing from the wider Imperial powers (including the involvement of a sizable force from the Iron Hands Astartes Chapter), Drusus orders the launch of the Angevin Crusade’s third and final phase of conquests. This campaign succeeded in destroying the powers that controlled much of what would later be known as the Drusus Marches sub-sector in General Drusus' honour, laying waste to as many worlds as he dominated. *'370-610.M39 The Great Founding' - Mass colonial expeditions from the overpopulated worlds of the distant Segmentum Solar, and from nearer afield in the troubled Mandragora and Gehenna Sectors arrive within the fledgling Calixis Sector, creating a great influx of human population to the region. *'372.M39 The Death of Angevin' - Lord Militant Golgenna Angevin dies at his palace on the world of Quaddis. Though the official cause of death is listed as natural causes, rumours lay his decline in health on advanced old age and a surfeit of fine living. Darker stories persist of the Officio Assassinorum’s hand in matters as punishment for his later failings in the prosecution of the Angevin Crusade. Drusus is named Lord Militant by wide acclaim in Angevin's stead (with the political support of both the Departmento Munitorum and the Inquisition) and as soon as a state period of mourning for the late Angevin is over, Drusus immediately sets to re-forging the region's military forces for a final counterattack into the regions of the Adrantis Nebula and the remaining strongholds of the Yu’vath Hell Worlds. *'380.M39 The Grant of The Lathes' - In recognition of their invaluable assistance and heavy losses in the purging of the taint of the Adrantians, as well as their service to the Angevin Crusade in decades past, Drusus grants the Lathe System to be the sole domain of the Adeptus Mechanicus in perpetuity, and ratifies their claims to several other worlds and rights of free and unchecked passage through the stars the Crusade has conquered. By this act, the Lords of Mars were bound in strength both to the fledgling sector and to Drusus' own banner. *'383.M39 N'dras Colonised' - Despite Earth Caste reservations, from those who want to study inexplicable sensor readings, the planet N'dras is chosen by the Ethereal Council as the prime world of a new Sept. *'384.M39 The Angevin Crusade Officially Ends; Birth of the Calixis Sector' - With the final defeat of the xenos known as the Yu’vath and the Bale Childer, and the Exterminatus of their homeworlds, the final serious organised resistance to Imperial rule in the Calyx Expanse ends and Drusus declares the Angevin Crusade to be complete. Drusus is installed with full rights and title by the Equerry Primaris of the High Lords of Terra as the first Lord Sector Calixis to much acclaim. Amongst his first acts are the confirming of the world of Scintilla as his sector capital, the ratification of the great trade charters for the new sector's mercantile shipmasters and rising commercial powers that had maintained the Crusade. This binds the sector’s life blood of trade and creates what would become the great Chartist families and first great Calixian noble houses. His other achievements include the creation of the sector's great legal code, the Corpus Presidium Calixis and the installation of a Calixian Holy Synod of the Adeptus Ministorum at Tarsus on Scintilla. The full effective pacification of the sector will continue to consume much blood and treasure of the Imperial war machine for a further three Terran centuries to come. *'407.M39 Guillotine of Khorne' - The thousand-year war of Midian finally ends with the Pax Veritas. That night, under a red moon, every celebrating soldier is suddenly decapitated by an invisible blade. It is assumed that the peace was not pleasing to the Blood God Khorne. *'417.M39 The Death of Drusus' - The first and greatest Lord Sector Calixis dies and is succeeded by Marshal Corin Shultus, his former aide-de-camp and distant kinsmen to the late Golgenna Angevin. The final resting place of Drusus’ mortal remains is kept a secret, although rumours circulate that he was taken back to Maccabeus Quintus to be interred at the site of his first "death." Mass lamentation and political unrest accompany the news of his passing and the entire sector undergoes a seven-year cycle of mourning. *'502.M39 The Beatification of Saint Drusus' - After nearly a century of deliberation the General Synod of Terra confers sainthood on Drusus, whose cult and dogma had already flourished within the Calixis Sector and become a dominating factor in the local Calixian sect of the Imperial Cult. *'519.M39 Hundred Planet Rebellion' - While attempting to follow Cypher's path, the Dark Angels uncover a mad priest named Alldric the Subverter. The Heretic visionary had led a swathe of planets on the borders of the Veiled Region to reject the rule of the Imperium. Within a decade, the Dark Angels and several of their Successor Chapters suppress the Chaos Cultist uprisings and slay their leaders. *'550-760.M39 The War of Hubris' - The independent world of Sinophia fights a covert trade war with the burgeoning commercial powers of the newborn Calixis Sector and is laid low. As a result, in the years that follow, much of its population is repatriated to the sector itself, its hive cities emptying and commerce fleeing. Sinophia now retains but a shadow of its former prominence and grandeur, nominally passing under the writ of the Lord Sector Calixis, and condemned to a long, slow economic starvation. *'576.M39 Steady Advancement' - Improvements to anti-gravitic motors and new Battlesuit technology (the T-series prototypes) help the Fire Caste complete the annexation of Tash'var Sept. *'589-591.M39 The ''Cauldron of Savagery Enters the Calixis Sector''' - The Space Hulk designated Cauldron of Savagery appears on the fringes of the Drusus Marches Sub-sector of the Calixis Sector, purportedly exiting the Great Warp Storms on their edge unscathed and marauding through several border systems before seeming to disappear again from whence it came. Imperial Navy warships assigned to shadow and harry the Space Hulk are lost with all hands near the storm border. Later evidence and deduction seems to indicate that its point of origin was the Koronus Expanse. *'763.M39' Crusader Pattern Land Raider officially recognised by the Tech-priests of Mars. *'876.M39 Mistaken Identity' - War is declared by the Tau Empire upon the cruel raiders victimising the new colonies of Ke'lshan. Believing they have tracked their foes down, the Tau instead destroy the Eldar Maiden World of Lilarsus. Future relationships between the Tau and the Craftworld Eldar continue to be strained. *'878.M39 Abenicus’ Theorem and the Mistaken Age' - Studying ancient pre-Angevin Crusade reports, prophetic murmurings culled from dubious texts and the visions granted him by his own fickle gifts, the Mad Navigator Abenicus of House Benetek spreads his theory that there exists a safe passage through the veil of Warp Storms that crowd the edges of the Drusus Marches and form a "natural" border to the Calixis Sector. Despite the Navigator’s evident insanity, his proofs and arguments are convincing and spark something of a "gold rush" of Rogue Traders and other ne’er-do-wells attempting to discover the route to his "safe passage", drawn on by the lure of untold riches and manifest power in the years to come. Many die, few return, and others meet only bloodshed and poverty in exchange for their efforts in what becomes known in local parlance as "The Mistaken Age," but in doing so lay the groundwork for the various Stations of Passage dotting the extreme border of the Drusus Marches extending into the storm zone. *'891.M39 ''The Lost Hope of Perdition' - An investigation by the Dark Angels of a Space Hulk designated the ''The Lost Hope of Perdition newly materialised out of the Warp discovers strong elements of the Renegades known as The Cleaved to be aboard. The ensuing fight is won when Dark Angels Assault Squads, advancing behind a trio of Dreadnoughts, get close enough to set Cyclonic Charges in the Hulk's engine rooms. *'985.M39' Squat Civil War. League Thor fights League Grindel over exploration of the lost stronghold of Dargon. The Cyclops are invented. *'985.M39' The Donian Crusade. Black Templars clear the Donian Sector of Orks. *'998.M39' Unholy Harbinger Space Hulk breaks from Warp near Cloras jump point. Sources *''Codex: Chaos Daemons'' (6th Edition), pg. 21 *''Codex: Dark Angels'' (6th Edition), pp. 35-37 *''Dark Heresy Apocrypha - Dark Heresy Timeline'' by Alan Bligh (RPG Web Supplement) *''Deathwatch: Know No Fear'': History of the Jericho Reach (RPG) *''Rogue Trader: Epoch Koronus - A History of the Koronus Expanse'' (RPG) *''Codex: Tau Empire'' (6th Edition), pg. 28 Category:M Category:History Category:Timeline